Former Montgomery County Sheriff's deputy charged with driving without a license

Former Montgomery County Sheriff's deputy charged with driving without a license

FLORIDA -- A former Montgomery County sheriff's deputy who lost his driver's license and his job last year after he hit a teenager on a skateboard and drove away without reporting the incident, has been arrested again.

Montgomery County Sheriff's Deputy K.P. Collins saw Gracia driving a 2012 Ford Taurus on Route 30 in the town of Florida at approximately 4:27 p.m. on Sept. 16, Sheriff Jeff Smith said.

Collins reported that Gracia's driver's license was revoked due to the hit-and-run incident and also had been suspended for failure to pay child support.

Gracia's license was revoked after the July 11, 2018 incident in which he was driving his personal vehicle on Northern Boulevard in the town of Amsterdam and struck Julian Louscher, 18, who was riding his skateboard.

Louscher and Gracia "exchanged words" and then Gracia drove away from the scene, but not before Louscher used his cellphone to take photos of Gracia and his vehicle, police said.

Gracia was charged with felony evidence tampering in the case, but that charge was dismissed in exchange for a plea deal in which Gracia agreed to resign from his job and plead guilty to two misdemeanor charges of official misconduct and leaving the scene of a personal injury accident. The case was settled in Amsterdam Town Court in December 2018.

Current Montgomery County Sheriff's Deputy Theresa Pingitore, 48, of Amsterdam, was also charged as part of the incident, with misdemeanor professional misconduct. Pingitore was charged based on allegations that Gracia had told her about the hit-and-run, and she failed to report it.

Pingitore's case was dismissed by Amsterdam Town Justice Herbert Menge in January. Pingitore has resumed her duties as a sheriff's deputy.

Gracia is scheduled to appear in Florida Town Court at 7 p.m. on Sept. 26.